The men of the Second Oregon waited for a month and a half in Cavite, Philippines. July went on and the 1st California and 14th US were moved out of Cavite into the field taking positions to the south of Manila. Other units from later arriving forces did the same. The Oregonians were not excited about being left behind to drill back at Cavite while the others were out on the firing lines.
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The Spanish-American War enjoyed ramped up emotions across the United States. Oregon was by no means immune in the enthusiasm to teach Spain a lesson. The state’s National Guard – a part-time militia more trained in strike-breaking than actual warfare – consisted of a brigade of two regiments . President William McKinley requested the State to furnish the Army with one regiment in the war with Spain, so a little selecting had to be done initially. And with the distance involved between Oregon and Cuba, there was little chance of Oregon troops being involved in the main war there. Dewey’s 1 May victory at Manila Bay, however, gave the men from the Beaver State another opportunity, but instead of going transcontinental, the Second Oregon would need to go trans-Pacific to participate off to the Philippines.
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